Hansen buys US software company

Utility billing software and solutions developer
Hansen Technologies
has doubled the size of its business in the United States through the acquisition of former competitor NirvanaSoft. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

New York-based NirvanaSoft designs complex billing solutions including software that can track time of use for the commercial and industrial customers of utility companies.

Hansen managing director
Andrew Hansen
said discussions between the two companies had been continuing for the past 18 months.

“This is just a way of enhancing our product suite," he said. “There are so many terms related to smart energy now but it’s essentially about two-way communication [across ­networks] and how much we charge for electricity."

NirvanaSoft employs about 20 staff, who are all expected to be retained as part of the deal.

The company’s chief executive, Kumar Parameswaran, has been offered a senior management role and will remain active in the business.

Hansen already has a presence in the US with an office in Denver as well as Australia, New Zealand and Britain. It has about 350 staff worldwide and clients in more than 40 countries. This global presence gives the company valuable insight into the smart energy progress being made in different markets.

“There’s a debate that has to be had now because it’s so broad. ­Consumers want a return on their investment," Mr Hansen said.

Related Quotes

Company Profile

“Most of the developed markets have a [smart energy] rollout in front of them. Some are more advanced than others – in the US a lot of money was made available by ­[President Barack] Obama and in the UK every house has to have smart meters installed by 2020 – but every country has their own strategy."

With more than half of its revenue generated overseas, Mr Hansen admitted that there had been a ­financial impact as a result of the strength of the Australian dollar but said the natural hedging of paying salaries in foreign currencies had ­softened the blow.